SALT LAKE CITY - Hundreds of tiny footprints left by mammals some 190 million years ago have been found on a canyon wall in a remote part of Dinosaur National Monument, park officials said Thursday.

The tracks are a rare find, mostly because they were left at a time when the area was a hostile, vast Sahara-like desert where towering sand dunes seldom preserved signs of animal life.

"It's just astonishing," Dan Chure, a paleontologist at the monument, said Thursday. "We were giggling like kids."
AP

And here's another one - also with wish-they-were-edible photos and mouth-watering recipes:  Pastry Studio.

Since I'm far from student age, I'll be driving to the local mission frequently with donations. For example, I counted tonight, and I have five-- yes FIVE pressure cookers in the house. I may have a sixth in storage.

These aren't pressure canners, mind, but cookers. Ranging from 2 quarts to 6. How did I wind up with so many?

Good news, though, I did find my 30 quart menudo pot. and six-- yes six-- vaporizers.

5 twin blankets, a down comforter, three, possibly four other comforters, an electric blanket... and I live in Alabama...I guess I was preparing for the next ice age, lol.

Wait till tomorrow's open thread, after I begin to go through the self-storage!

Cosby on Boston's WZLX:
"I've heard about five different reports [on the details of the arrest]. If I'm the president of the United States, I don't care how much pressure people want to put on it about race, I'm keeping my mouth shut. I was shocked to hear the president making this kind of statement."

In response to this no doubt:

"What we've seen is this constant demand for attention," Clinton, who is in India, said in an interview that aired on Monday on ABC's "Good Morning America."

"And maybe it's the mother in me or the experience that I've had with small children and unruly teenagers and people who are demanding attention -- don't give it to them, they don't deserve it, they are acting out," she said.

Clinton also downplayed the threat that North Korea poses to the United States, saying: "They don't pose a threat to us. We know that our allies, Japan and South Korea, are very concerned."

"It's unfortunate because there are so many other police cases where an elected official has made a comment that wasn't correct, comments that could have been better worded," he said. "Look at Rodney King. It's a high-profile case, and everyone is entitled to an opinion."

Against the backdrop of budget deficits across the Golden State, the Californian city of Oakland votes yes to a proposal to tax the sale of medical marijuana.

[snip]

The new measure places a 1.8 percent gross receipts tax on the four licensed medical cannabis dispensaries in Oakland.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that she doesn't feel bound by the $235 billion in deals that the White House and the Senate Finance Committee cut with hospital and pharmaceutical companies to defray costs of a new health-care plan, stating that

she thinks the industries could do more

.

As I've written over at DailyKos and as I told Howard Dean last week, I believe that a robust not-for-profit public option must be a part of the health care reform package Congress passes this year. I feel that opening up a Medicare For All type system to everyone would lower costs and increase efficiency by injecting some much needed competition into the market.

[snip]

I truly believe that health care is a right, not a privilege, and that the time for real reform -- including a public option -- is now.

HuffPo

Seems like Gillibrand is slightly to the right of Maloney

"I believe universal health care is a fundamental right and value and we must pass it this year.
"In terms of how we achieve universal health care, I believe the best way is a single-payer health care system and I've long been a co-sponsor of that legislation.

But if single payer isn't on the table then we must give all Americans the option of enrolling in a public health insurance plan and I will fight to make sure the public option is included in any health care reform bill. As President Obama has said, a public plan is one of the best ways to bring down costs and 'force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest.'

When President Barack Obama appointed former Seattle, Washington police chief Gil Kerlikowske to lead the Office of National Drug Control Policy, activists supporting marijuana policy reform were cheered by the news, however briefly.

[snip]

Kerlikowske's appointment came on the heels of Attorney General Eric Holder's announcement that America would not longer prosecute patients who are legally prescribed the herb in states that have passed laws allowing medicinal marijuana. Holder's announcement fell in-line with Obama's repeated-yet-quiet endorsement of marijuana for medical use as "entirely appropriate" for states in which a majority of voters approve.

Even though Kerlikowske's former city is famously tolerant of marijuana -- which is less harmful and less addictive than America's most popular, legal intoxicant, alcohol -- that did not stop America's new drug czar from demeaning the president's position on medicinal use, telling a crowd in Fresno, California on Wednesday that marijuana is "dangerous" and "has no medical benefit," according to The Fresno Bee.

He has no medical training and did not qualify his statements with any opinions from medical professionals.

Since when do my body parts belong to the state when I die unless I make a decision otherwise?  I have always signed my donor card  but to use people's ignorance or indifference in this area is wrong.  And that is what advocates are relying on.
The best thing about Illinois is they don't have a helmet law for motorcycles.  If you want to increase organ donors repeal all helmet laws.  Or allow people to sell their organs and watch the supply increase.  

WASHINGTON - Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), a longtime member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today issued the following statement on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace Supreme Court Justice David Souter:

"I entered into the confirmation process of Judge Sotomayor with the strong desire to vote in favor of her nomination. Her credentials and experience are very impressive and her personal demeanor is pleasantly cordial and friendly. I found that the great respect I have for Judge Sotomayor's heritage and history added even more to my desire to carefully review her record and opinions in hopes of finding them truly grounded in the rule of law and acceptable to earn the support and trust of the American people and myself.

"Arriving at a final decision was particularly difficult because I like and highly respect Judge Sotomayor and, in general, give a great deal of deference to any President's nominee. The prospect of a woman of Puerto Rican heritage serving on the Supreme Court brought great excitement to me and says a lot about America.

"However, after thoroughly reviewing Judge Sotomayor's record and being able to hear her testimony and responses during the hearing process, I reluctantly, and with a heavy heart, have found that I cannot support her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court. In truth, I wish President Obama had chosen a Hispanic nominee that all Senators could support. I believe it would have done a great deal for our great country. Although Judge Sotomayor has a compelling life story and dedication to public service, her statements and record were too much at odds with the principles about the judiciary in which I deeply believe.

 "As I said during the hearing, some of Judge Sotomayor's critics have been intemperate and unfair.  No nominee deserves that kind of treatment.  I was grateful her confirmation hearing was both dignified and thorough, as they all should be. I was particularly pleased that Judge Sotomayor felt her hearing was as gracious and fair as she could have asked for.

"During my analysis, I focused on her record and applied standards and principles that define the kind of judge all Americans need.  Qualifications for judicial service include not only legal experience but, more importantly, a nominee's approach to judging.  This makes Judge Sotomayor's judicial philosophy more important than her stellar resume.  I thoroughly examined her record with the more exacting focus appropriate for a Supreme Court nomination.  This included reading and studying Judge Sotomayor's speeches, articles, and cases; meeting with and hearing from legal experts and advocates from different perspectives; and actively participating in the confirmation hearing.

"The duty of confirmation entrusted to all Senators requires we determine whether Judge Sotomayor has the legal experience and, more importantly, the judicial philosophy that properly equips her for service on the Supreme Court.  I have done my best to leave politics aside and stay true to this standard during all twelve Supreme Court confirmations I have participated in. It saddens me to realize that after reviewing her record, I have reluctantly concluded that I cannot vote in favor of her confirmation. However, I wish her well in her future endeavors and believe she is a wonderful and talented American with much to offer this great country."

A Singaporean law professor has pulled out of a teaching stint at New York University after her hardline anti-gay views triggered a backlash on campus, school officials said.

Richard Revesz, dean of New York University's law school, said Thio Li-ann had informed him she would not be teaching during the fall semester because of "controversy surrounding her views regarding homosexuality and gay rights."

"She explained that she was disappointed by what she called the atmosphere of hostility by some members of our community towards her views and by the low enrolments in her classes," he said in a statement seen Friday.

RawStory